Common Octopus – Octopus Vulgaris

Description

There can be quite a difference in the sizes of the Common Octopus. Some of them are only about 12 inches long while others are three times that at 36 inches in length. Some of them are 7 pounds in length and others can be closer to 20 pounds. The fact that there are such differences often results in the Common Octopus being confused with other species.

They feature a very large head and eyes that seem too large for the rest of their body. They are very interesting to look at with eight very long arms going in all directions. They range in colors depending on where they happen to reside. They are very good at using different types of pigment to be able to blend into their surroundings. That gives them the ability to hide right in front of humans and predators.

Distribution

The Common Octopus is found out there in all of the oceans. They live in both the tropical and temperate areas of the waters. They live in the Mediterranean Sea and along the coast of England. Some other places they have been located include some parts of Africa, the Cape Verde Islands, and the Canary Islands.

Behavior

The Common Octopus is the species that has been evaluated and observed the most thorough various forms of research studies. They are very smart animals and they have been known to do a variety of extraordinary things. For example they are able to tell how bright an object is, to distinguish different shapes, and to determine the size of objects. They also have great memories for being able to tell patterns that are placed before them.

They have amazing problem solving skills too. For example they can actually figure out how to take the lid off a jar so that they can climb inside of that jar. They can also figure out how to get foods out of lobster traps that commercial fisherman have placed out there.

The Common Octopus is very good at hiding from predators in the water. They can stay in lairs they create. If you know what to look for though you will be able to recognize signs of them being present. They will collect crustacean shells and a variety of other items out there. They create an elaborate fortress around their shelter area.

Common octopus – Octopus vulgaris

Diet /Feeding

The Common Octopus generally has no trouble at all finding lots of foods to consume. Among them are mollusks, crustaceans, crayfish, and crabs. They are able to get their prey in their webbed arms, then to bite them in order to release a type of venom. That venom is going to make their prey unable to move and so they can consume it easily.

They have sharp beaks that they use to crack open the shells on some of their prey. When that isn’t possible they will drill holes in it to suck out the food. They can also put their saliva on it that is strong enough to dissolve the shell in not time at all.

Reproduction

They have a short lifespan that can range from one to two years. Like other species of Octopus they will die shortly after mating. To help them find a mate they go closer to the shore in the early spring months. The female can lay up to 200,000 eggs a couple of months after mating. While she will do all she can to ensure that they don’t get eaten by predators it is very difficult. Less than 1% of the eggs laid will result in a Common Octopus that lives to the age of maturity.

East Pacific Red Octopus – Octopus rubescens

Description

There is a good chance you have heard of the East Pacific Red Octopus. They are small in size and have a body that is about three times smaller than the length of their eight arms. Fully grown they weigh about 5 ounces. They can be about 20 inches in overall length as adults. The males and females are almost identical in their size so it is hard to tell them apart based on appearance.

They are able to blend in very well to their surroundings all the time. This is possible due to the pigment changing abilities in the body. Therefore you will find them in a variety of different colors out there. They can often be right in front of you and unless you know to look for them you won’t realize you are staring at an Octopus.

However, their primary coloring is a shade of red. They can also have shades of brownish red coloring for their bodies. Some of the various colors it can change into including yellow, white, and brown.

Distribution

This Octopus has a very large distribution area. It spans across the West Coast of North America. It is one of the largest spans out there too. They have been found from the coast of California all the way up to the coast of Alaska.

They tend to live in shallow water areas. Most of the time they don’t go deeper than 300 feet into the waters. They will though if they are having a hard time finding enough food.

Behavior

The East Pacific Red Octopus is very intelligent and has been tested in a variety of areas. Researchers knew that they are able to problem-solve and that they have excellent memories – both in regards to the short and long term.

Diet /Feeding

The East Pacific Red Octopus doesn’t seem to be as picky when it comes to their diet as many other species of Octopus. Generally, they will take the opportunity to consume whatever foods they can find in the wild. Crabs, clams, and scallops provide them with the majority of the intake for their diet. They will also consume some types of fish when they have an opportunity to do so.

They have a peculiar method to their dining habits though. Instead of consuming their food where they capture it they will gather many different foods. Then they will retreat back to their home environment where they can enjoy it all at their own pace. If what they take with them isn’t enough they will consume it and then go explore for the second round of food.

The shells that they remove from their prey are normally stacked outside of their home. This is a telling sign that some species of Octopus is residing in that particular area. They tend to relocate often though so those piles of shells could become a vacant location in no time at all.

Reproduction

The male and female East Pacific Red Octopus will only interact with each other for mating in late August and early September. Then the females will deposit eggs in the early winter months. It takes about 8 weeks for the eggs to be ready to leave her body.

They generally search for rocky areas where they can hide those eggs from predators. The females will be very close to death by the time her young start to hatch. As soon as they start to emerge she will go her own way. The young are able to swim and look for food immediately. They are extremely vulnerable though and the mortality rate is about 90%.

North Pacific Giant Octopus – Enteroctopus dofleini

Description

The winner of being the largest of all Octopus species in the world is the North Pacific Giant. This one can be close to 150 pounds when it is fully mature and be as long as 15 feet. When you consider that some species are only a few inches in length and weight a couple of ounces there is a huge difference. The overall size of these octopuses really depends on the location where they live and what they feed on there.

You may read stories out there about some being much bigger than that. While those stories do continue to circulate they haven’t been verified. However, many experts don’t doubt at all that they can grow to be quite a bit larger than what we have recorded. Since they can blend into their surroundings so easily it can be very easy to miss one when it is right in front of you.

The ability to change colors due to pigmentation is very easy for this particular species. Since they can’t move as quickly or fit into small crevices they use the changing of color to blend in and to avoid being detected. They are normally a shade of red or brown and they can be light or dark. Yet due to their many habitats, they can be just about any color.

Anatomy

The anatomy of a North Pacific Giant Octopus is very interesting. They tend to lie flat often on the bottom of the ocean so they seem to be like a tan starfish. It is this blending in though that makes them able to avoid detection from various types of predators. They have very long arms that are also thick. Along the length of them are many suction cups.

They have a head that is quite large compared to other species of Octopus. They have a mantle part of the body that is spherical in design. This is part of what helps them to be able to move around effortlessly.

Evolution

No one really know for sure what has occurred throughout time for the North Pacific Giant Octopus to take on the role that it has. There is only speculation about how they have changed from millions of years ago until the present. It is strongly believed though that they have been able to continually adapt to their changing environment. The development of so many arms may be directly linked to the evolution process for them.

Behavior

We don’t have very much information at all about the North Pacific Giant Octopus when it comes to their behavior. What we do know about them is that they have the ability to learn new things all the time. They can adapt to a changing environment through their learning skills. They are able to solve problems and they have excellent memories.

They do seem to spook easily and since they can’t move as fast as other species of Octopus they will release ink to getaway. They seem to do this more often than other species of Octopus and they also produce a larger volume of the dark ink because they have bigger glands for the production of it.

Habitat/Distribution

The North Pacific Ocean is home to this species of Octopus. They tend to live about 200 feet below the surface of the water. Yet they have been found to live deeper and that is believed to be due to the changes in their environment. When they don’t have enough food to eat or they can’t find shelter then they will move deeper in order to have those basic needs met.

North Pacific Giant Octopus – Enteroctopus dofleini

Diet/Feeding Habits

They spend most of their nighttime hours looking for food. The drawback of being a larger species is that you have to eat more to have energy. There is usually no problem though for the North Pacific Giant Octopus to find more than enough to eat in their natural environment. Some of their common items include fish, crabs, clams, and shrimp.

You may find it hard to believe but they have also been known to consume some of the small species of sharks out there. This can offer them a great meal and one that means they don’t have to hunt anymore for a day or two. They are opportunistic so they will do what they can to benefit as those chances for great meals happen to come their way.

The fact that they can consume these sharks has been verified through the stomach contents of some that have been captured in nets or killed accidentally. Without that type of information to verify it though this would continue to be considered a myth. The fact that they can consume small sharks really shows us how powerful the North Pacific Giant Octopus can be.Octopus Habitat – Read Or Listen To The Article Click Here.

Reproduction

Mating is about the only time that the male and female North Pacific Giant Octopus come into contact with each other. The process of mating involves the male taking a sperm sac from his body and placing it into the mantle of the female. This sac has a very thick protective coating on it because she may carry it around for about six months before her eggs are ready to be deposited.

There is also lots of sperm in that sac because she will need to allocate it among approximately 100,000 eggs. That process can take her many weeks to complete and it will consume every bit of her time. The role at that time switches from her own needs to protect the eggs at any cost. She will do all she can to keep them clean and to keep predators at bay.

Around the same time that her eggs hatch she will be at the end of her life span. For the males, they will die very soon after mating. The life span is prolonged for the female to give her time to pass on survival to the next generation. Even in the best of conditions this species of Octopus doesn’t live more than 3-5 years. Yet that is considerably longer than many species with a life span of less than one year.

These offspring are extremely small at birth but have the ability to swim and to be able to find food. Yet they are also highly regarded as a source of food by predators out there. Out of those 100,000 eggs, only about 1,000 of them will survive the first few months of life. Even less than that will reach the age of maturity.

Predators

Even though this is a large-sized Octopus that doesn’t make it exempt from predators. In fact, there are some large ones out there that find it to make a very nice meal. Among them include Sperm Whales, Sea Otters, and Harbor Seals. It really depends on the location where the happen to live.

Humans do find capturing them to be ideal due to their size. They can offer quite a large amount of meat to be used for various types of food dishes. They also like to get rid of these creatures in the water because they consume many of the other creatures that they are trying to commercially harvest. Even so, there doesn’t seem to be a problem when it comes to their overall numbers remaining out there.